sonal links with front companies for thernChinese mihtan’ and intelhgence communities?rnAnd what is one to do withrnsuch a person in the event of a war withrnChina? To put the issue somewhat differentl)’:rnSuppose ou were running Cliinesernintelhgence and wished to plant arnnetwork of “sleepers” around the UnitedrnStates. For really effective cover, would itrnnot be smart to have them apply for citizenshiprnas soon as they were eligible?rnDoes anyone believe the Chinese CommunistrnPart)- incapable of such a thing?rnIf you start asking these kinds of questions,rnsomeone soon raises the issue ofrnthe internment of Japanese-Americans inrnWorld War II. This is generally regardedrnas a very disgraceful episode —the U.S.rngovernment interning U.S. citizens forrnreasons suspiciously racist (German-rnAmericans and Italian-Americans werernnot interned in anything like such numbers,rnalthough many were interned). Irnmust say, I have never thought it was arnvery deplorable thing to do. All those interned,rnincluding those with U.S. cihzenship,rnwere Japanese citizens (at that time,rnJapanese automatically inherited citizenshiprnfrom their fathers). Only Japanese-rnAmericans in likely infiltration areasrnwere interned; Those in New York, Nebraska,rnand Havvaii(!) were not. Japanrnhad attacked U.S. territory; Germany andrnItaly had not. The camps were ratherrncomfortable —thev contained beautyrnparlors, for example, and in at least onerncase, a Kabnki theater—and were visitedrnb)’ all the major news organizations of therntime. Some Japanese-Americans wererngiven the choice of returning to Japan,rnand did so. The Japanese authorities regardedrnthem with deep suspicion and putrnthem to forced labor in concentrationrncamps.rnThe interned Japanese-Americans arguernthat they were not security’ threats. Irnam sure diat most of them were not; I amrnequally sure that some of them were. Arnfriend currently teaching at a Japanesernuniversit)’ tells me that the phrase nihonrnga kateba ii — “l hope Japan wins”—wasrncommonly heard among older Japanese-rnAmericans at the time.rnI have spoken only of mainland Chinesernpeople living in this country. ThernTaiwanese are a special case, the more sornbecause the most probable cause of a warrnbetween China and the United Statesrnwould be a Chinese attack on, or blockadernof, Taiwan. My impression is thatrnunder this or any other casus belli, mostrnTaiwanese voii]d support America.rnMany native Taiwanese dislike mainlandersrnin general. (I know one who objectsrnto being called Chinese: “I am notrnChinese, I am Taiwanese.”) Descendantsrnof those mainlanders who came tornthe island in Chiang Kai-shek’s baggagerntrain shll fear and hate the Communists.rnIt is, after all, Chiang’s wife who owns therndishnction of being the first person of importancernin any nation to call for the usernof nuclear weapons against her ownrncountrymen.rnWhat of those who call themselvesrn”Chinese-Americans”— members of thernChinese race who were born here andrnpassed through the American educationalrnsystem? All those classes on “multiculturalism”rnand “diversity'” they must havernsat through: What lesson did they takernfrom them? That their first lovaltv is torntheir ethnic group? Wliat, then, is theirrnsecond loyalty? To their countr)’ of citizenship?rnOr to the homeland of theirrnethnic group? The situation is not improvedrnby the fact of ABGs being overrepresentedrnin colleges and universitiesrn(a state of affairs that becomes even morernpronounced as affirmative action in col-rnOf Pigeons and Pyracanthasrnby Constance Rowell MastoresrnThe dusty hedge outside the Safewayrnbursts with pigeons. It bends beneathrntheir weight. Some disappear withinrnthe tangled web. Some hang upsiderndown and foist their eye on me asrnthey pick and plunder —upset, perhaps,rnthat I have caught them in the act—rnthe berries not yet ripe. A terse,rnunsucculent lot. More like a scourgernthan a feast. Why not let them ripen?rnFerment a little? Then have a party?rnAre they an antidote for monthsrnof junk food? A purgative? A riternof passage? Although I do confessrnthe birds look lovely on the hedgern(or ice-versa) fooling aroimdrnfor berries. You wish that you could joinrnthem there —for whatever joy they get.rnFor when they strut about on asphalt,rnyou see them all too clearly. Mess’rnand vainglorious. Without a tracernof humor. They’re best on pyracanthasrnlater in the season. Interjectingrnlove pecks between the pecks of berries.rnBeside themselves with the good thingsrnin life. Boozy. All charged-up.rnAs we used to get—before we grewrncorrect—at the yearly office party.rnJANUARY 2000/43rnrnrn